Chesterton Street
Commissioner John Schnadenberg has spent nearly his entire adult life in the
service of the community, not only as the head of the Street Department but
for 26 years--more than a quarter of a century--as a Chesterton Police
Reserve officer.

Lt. Schnadenberg’s
dedication to the town and his professional have long been bywords in
Chesterton. But now the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has
recognized him as well, honoring Schnadenberg with its 2013 Community
Service Award of the Year.

The award was
presented to Schnadenberg at the IACP’s winter conference in Indianapolis on
Jan. 31.

Just how dedicated
a Reserve officer is Schnadenberg? Chesterton Police Chief Dave Cincoski,
who nominated him for the award, told the Chesterton Tribune that
Schnadenberg has logged more than 9,000 man-hours in uniform, as an
unpaid volunteer.

Nine-thousand
man-hours: 1,125 work-days: figure around five and a half work-years.
“During this time, John has served side by side with full-time sworn
officers, completing the same tasks, answering the same calls, and going the
same places that paid officers have done and gone,” Cincoski noted. “In his
tenure, John has experienced and done more than most modern police officers.
And he has done it all for free and in the name of volunteerism and
service.”

“What makes John
unique in the circle of Reserve officers is that he has purchased his own
equipment to a point where he is as capably equipped as many of my full-time
officers,” Cincoski said. “In many an emergency situation, John is often the
first to arrive on scene and willing to do any task assigned to him no
matter how seemingly mundane and trivial. John voluntarily attends all
levels of department training and is probably better trained than most
probationary officers.”

“There is not a
full-time officer on the Chesterton Police Department who wouldn’t feel safe
and secure with John backing them up,” Cincoski added.

“I am humbled to
receive the award,” Schnadenberg told the Tribune today. “After 26
years I am still proud to wear the uniform. And I accept the award on behalf
of all the men and women who serve as reserve officers in departments around
the state.”

Schnadenberg also
expressed his gratitude to Cincoski for nominating him and said that
Cincoski does a “great job of running the department.”